


Train Derailment

by Malec_forever46



Series: Buddie [10]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck gets closure, Disasters, F/F, F/M, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Parents Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Worried Eddie Diaz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26726689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malec_forever46/pseuds/Malec_forever46
Summary: Athena's attack, May's grad party, Abby's back, Buck and Eddie talk about Chris' trip and lots of bonding with the babies
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Buddie [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608103
Kudos: 43





	Train Derailment

**Author's Note:**

> Buckley-Diaz Family  
> Evan Buckley (28)  
> Eddie Diaz (30)  
> Christopher Buckley-Diaz (9 years old)  
> Liam Buckley-Diaz (2 months)  
> Noah Buckley-Diaz (2 months)

**1 Month Later…**

**6AM**

**Buck’s POV**

I woke up with Eddie next to me in bed, smiling down at his sleeping face, I gave him a kiss getting out of bed and headed to Chris’ room first, “Chris, time to get up bud, you gotta get to school.” I said running fingers through his hair making my way to the nursery to greet my baby boys, I looked down at 2 pairs of brown eyes with curly blond hair.

“Hello my monsters. Time to get up, today is the day your dad and I go back to work and you are going to be in the care of Carla today.” I said grabbing the boys heading to the rocking chair in the corner sitting down feeding and burping them before changing their diapers and placing them back in the crib heading to get dressed for work, once I was changed I made my way into the kitchen to get breakfast started watching out for random toys everywhere waiting for Chris and Eddie to make an appearance.

I fed Cooper and Cosmo I heard the sound of the front door open “Morning Buckaroo.” Carla said greeting me in the kitchen, I smiled at her, “Morning Carla. So Eddie and I are going back to work today since the kids were born and so I was wondering if you can watch them. I know it’s a lot to ask.” I added nervously, Carla’s smile softened as I finished,

“Oh buckaroo. I would love to, those kids are adorable and I’m not here just for Chris anymore, I’m here for all of you.” she said, bringing me into a hug, “speaking of those beautiful babies where are they?” she asked, “Well, I fed, changed them and put them back in their crib but if Eddie has anything to do with it, he’s probably bringing them out and putting them in their play pen in the living room.” I said, Carla chuckled. “Morning papa, morning Carla.” Chris said, making his way into the kitchen, “Morning Chris.” Carla and I said, as he sat down for breakfast.

As expected Eddie made his way into the kitchen carrying Liam and Noah , Carla burst into laughter. Eddie looked up startled which turned into confusion, “What?” he asked, putting them in their playpen, once Carla got herself under control she answered, “oh nothing. Buck just said that you would bring the kids down into the living room to put them in their playpen. Wow Eddie, you’ve become predictable.” that caused me to burst out into laughter, Eddie just pouted, I took pity on him and moved to peck him on the lips

. “Oh don’t pout babe, you know we do it out of love right?” I asked, putting a plate of food in front of him smiling. Eddie took the plate and sat down next to Chris “Whatever.” he answered, digging in.

I smiled “Carla, feel free to grab something.” I said before putting my plate in the sink making my way upstairs to get our duffel bags, I came back down, watching Chris in the living room smiling and playing with his brothers. I smiled at the scene making my way towards Eddie and Carla who were in the middle of a conversation.

I looked at the time “Okay. the boys have been fed and changed, there is milk in the fridge so just heat it up when they get crabby and call if you need anything um I think that is it.” I rambled causing Carla to put a comforting hand on my arm, “Breathe buckaroo. I got this, we will be okay, just go and save lives we’ll be here when you get back.” she said smiling softly at me, I sighed giving her a relieved smile,

“I’m sorry, just the first time jitters. Haven’t left their side since they were born.” I apologized, rubbing the back of my neck, “It’s okay Buckaroo. Every parent gets first time jitters but everything is going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to your babies I promise.” Carla reassured me, I nodded. “Now you don’t want to be late to work now do you?” she asked, “Nope sure don't.” I answered.

I made my way to Chris giving him a kiss on the head before giving Liam and Noah a kiss as well, “Bye kiddos. See you later. Love you.” I said, “Bye dad, bye papa. Love you, be safe.” Chris answered, hugging Eddie and myself before we made our way out the door, “Bye Carla.” we called behind us. 8AM-3PM We made our way into the station heading towards the locker room to get changed before making our way to the loft.

“Good morning everybody.” Eddie said, Hen, Chim, and Bobby turned to look at us smiling, “Hello boys. How’s parenthood treating you?” Hen asked, as we made our way to the table we smiled “It’s good, you besides the sleepless nights, constant crying, and poopy diapers everything is good.” I said, making myself a cup of coffee,

“I also get to drink coffee again, so that’s a plus side.” I said sitting back down drinking the nice warm liquid. “There is one thing we can’t figure out, we have to wake up constantly because everytime we put the kids to sleep they keep waking up crying. We just don’t know what is wrong.” Eddie said sitting next to me, Chim and Hen thought about it for a second before saying,

“Well I mean it is half Buckley, and when Maddie and I moved in together she couldn't go to sleep unless there was sound playing so ended up getting one of those sound machines so now we sleep to the sound of beach waves.” Hen added,

“Also think about it, the boys practically lived at the firehouse because Buck was here so much and so they were always surrounded by noise.” “Maybe they don’t like sleeping in darkness.” Bobby added, “That makes sense, because Buck always falls asleep on my chest.” Eddie added, making everyone look at me, “It calms me down.” I explained, making everyone chuckle.

“So maybe hearing noises would help the boys sleep too.” Hen added. Eddie and I looked at them relieved, “Thanks for the help guys,” Eddie said, I nodded in agreement. “It’s totally fine, new parents just need some help sometimes.” Hen said,

Chimney added, “I’ll make a recording so you guys can take it home with you.” I sighed in relief, “Now that that’s settled what do you say we eat before we get a call.” Bobby added everyone nodded in agreement.

The morning was pretty uneventful, Chim was able to make the recording and give it to me and Eddie, so I stored it in my locker for until the shift is over, the team was currently doing chores around the firehouse before we got any calls.

Just as we were almost done with the chores the alarm went off, we took a call at a field where a little girl was trapped in a hot air balloon and I jumped in the basket while the rest of the team grabbed onto the chords to help steady before I got out and helped them.

Thankfully the girl was safe and unharmed, next we got a call to a lady who stole a tree trimmer truck for some strange reason causing a power outage having Eddie and I put out the truck by using CO2 to stop it from going up in flames, before I went over to help people when they crashed in the cars after the stop lights went out and I heard Bobby murmur,

“It’s gonna be a long day.” briefly over my shoulder, leading to us taking a call at a store where a worker is stuck in a walk in freezer and we had to break open the door, we started brainstorming ideas in order to help Gordon out and help his hypothermia to be able to warm him up in order to make sure he was okay and back to breathing normal.

Overall it has been a really busy day so it was easy for me to take my mind off of my baby boys at home with Carla and the puppies. 8PM We are currently at another scene helping an injured man when we hear dispatch, “All units, police, and fire RA, clear channel two. Switch to Tac Channel 50. Officer on open mic in distress. Needs assistance.” When we all listen to our radios I am currently behind Bobby and I look towards Eddie when dispatch continues, “727-L-30 at Studio Self Storage.” when Hen speaks up “Bobby, that’s Athena’s call number.” looking up from the patient, Bobby stops for a second before he starts calling out orders,

“Take him to the hospital and everyone else, on the engine, now, let’s go.” immediately getting on the firetruck, everyone right behind him basically running into the engine making our way towards the storage facility as we are driving down the streets sirens wailing in the night we are listening through Athena’s radio,

I look over at Bobby and he looks like he is about to fall apart, his face is so broken as we hear grunting, shouting, and blows being landed over the radio, I’m thinking to myself that Athena is one hell of a fighter, I looked over at Eddie with a desperate look in my eyes he knows how much of a mother Athena is to me and hearing these awful sounds, I had tears forming in my eyes,

Eddie moved wrapping his arm around me,

“It’s going to be okay querido. Athena is one tough cookie, she’s not going down without a fight.” Eddie whispered, I leaned into his touch,

“I know. But if she dies Eddie, I don’t know what I’ll do. She’s my mom and she needs to watch her grandkids grow up.” I whispered back.

Chimney said softly, “Cap, they’re telling us to switch to Tac 50.” Bobby just shook his head and kept listening, I can’t imagine what must be going through his mind, which made things worse when we heard a gunshot ring. I let out a whimper and everything seemed to stop moving. I looked at Bobby who had no emotion on his face, as soon as we pulled up to the facility Bobby was out of the truck and immediately went to the compartment taking an axe out and heading inside, as soon as Eddie and I saw what he was doing our team was right behind him as we made our way through the dark facility with our flashlights, we followed Bobby’s lead, we approached the man who attacked Athena he was chained to a post with a bloody face, “Captain Nash, she’s here.” an officer said, taking our attention away from the man, towards all the officers surrounding Athena.

Immediately Hen and Chim started working, “Athena, can you hear me?” he asked by her side, “Can you hear me?” she repeated while Chimney took out a light checking her pupils. “Pupils are equal and reactive.” Chimney added, “Might be a fractured rib.” she answered, they turned when Athena groaned looking at each other “Arm’s definitely broken. Right closed fracture” Chim added,“All right. Starting fluids.” Hen said

“Splinting the arm. You stay with us, Athena.” Chim begged, a man showed up who was working with Athena, Eddie, Bobby, and I watched as Hen and Chim worked, when the guy added, “Let’s get a medic.” That's when Bobby finally spoke, “He can wait.” Chimney yelled, “We need to move her” grabbing a stretcher finally getting Athena out of the facility and into an ambulance, Eddie and I watched as Bobby got in the ambulance with Hen behind him.

**Eddie’s POV**

Buck collapsed into my arms as the ambulance drove away, I wrapped his arms around me and just held him, “Shh… it’s gonna be okay. Athena’s gonna be okay.” I said rubbing circles up and down his back in a comforting manner, Buck cried harder in my arms. “What do you say we head back to the firehouse, grab our bags and head home to our boys ya?” I asked, looking down at Buck’s face, he looked up at me and nodded, we made our way to the truck once we arrived at the station. We grabbed our bags and headed home, I drove because Buck was in no condition to drive.

When we entered the house we were greeted by Cosmo and Cooper first, “We’re home!” I called out, before we heard the sound of crutches heading in our direction and were greeted by Chris, “Hi papa. Hi dad.” giving us both hugs before going back into the living room, Carla came over next holding Liam and Noah, “Hi guys.” Carla greeted, her smile fell when she looked at Buck.

Buck immediately grabbed Liam and Noah from her arms dropping his duffel and heading towards the nursery, “I’m going to go put them to bed and plug in the iPod,” he whispered walking upstairs. I smiled sadly at his retreating form, “What happened Eddie?” Carla asked, I sighed rubbing a hand down my face.

“We responded to a call at a storage facility and we had to listen as Athena fought for life, Bobby and Buck literally looked like ghosts as we listened in and Buck got so scared because Athena and Bobby are basically his parents and he was scared that the kids were going to grow up without grandparents so he’s taking it pretty hard.” I answered, Carla gave me a sad smile,

“Besides the circumstances is Athena okay? Because she is one tough cookie and I know she fought like hell.” Carla asked, I nodded, “Yeah. She is going to be okay besides a broken arm and bruises she’s going to make a full recovery. We are gonna visit her in the hospital tomorrow and bring the kids by, since I’m sure that will help everybody.” I answered,

“Well, that’s good. I’m glad. I’m gonna head out and leave you boys to it. Give Buck a hug for me will you?” she asked, grabbing her bag and heading towards the front door, “I will. I’m pretty sure he is not going to leave the twins any time soon.” I answered closing the door behind her, I made my way towards the living room, “All right kiddo. Time for bed.” I said, kissing his head,

“Okay dad. Is papa okay? He looked sad when you came home.” Chris asked as we made our way upstairs to his room, “Papa will be okay. We got a call tonight and grandma Athena was hurt so we had to go help her and she is a mom to Papa so he is taking it kind of hard right now, but we are gonna go visit her tomorrow and bring her flowers.” I answered while Christopher got under the covers,

“Okay, are Liam and Noah coming too?” he asked, I smiled, “Yay. I think Athena would love to see her grandkids.” I said, giving him another kiss, “Good night, mijo. Love you” I added before leaving his room,

“I’ll make sure Papa comes in and says good night as well.” “Night dad. Love you too.” he answered, I left the door open a crack. I arrived at the nursery and saw Buck in the rocking chair with Liam and Noah sleeping on his chest, I leaned against the door jam watching him holding our babies while listening to the sounds of the station quietly in the background. “Hi mi vida.” I whispered standing behind him looking down,

“Hey Eds,” he whispered back, I put my hands on his shoulder rubbing comforting circles into them, “How are you holding up?” I asked, Buck looked at me with red puffy eyes “Oh querido.” my heart broke looking down at my boyfriends eyes, “Come to bed Ev, I promised Chris we could go visit Athena tomorrow at the hospital and bring the twins too. What do you think about that idea?” I asked, Buck nodded his head,

“I think that’s a great idea, I know it would make me feel better,” he answered, “Let’s go to bed.” he added, slowly standing up and making his way to the boys cribs, I grabbed Liam from his arms as we placed them in carefully before turning on their night light leaving the door open a crack,

“I’m gonna go change clothes, go say good night to Christopher.” I said kissing his cheek making my way to our bedroom, changed clothes before going downstairs and making sure that all the doors and windows were locked and the alarm system was activated before going to our bedroom.

I plugged in my phone and made sure the baby monitor was close to us, before taking out a book and waiting for Buck to come to bed, I heard footsteps get closer and then the door opened and Buck came in changing clothes and getting into bed beside me moving down so his head was laying on my chest, I closed my book and ran my fingers through his hair in a calming motion.

I waited until his breaths were even before closing my eyes and following him in sleep.

**NEXT MORNING…**

**Eddie's P** **OV**

I turned over to block out the sun feeling Buck’s side of the bed was empty. I got out of bed and made my way to the place where I would expect Buck to be. Turns out I was right Buck is currently sitting in the nursery watching Liam and Buck in their cribs. I decided to leave him alone and go wake up Christopher instead, I opened his door and watched as Chris’ blond curls showed through where the covers were covering over his head. I smiled and made my way over to his bed gently sitting down next to his head, “Chris” I gently said, shaking his shoulder gently, “Wake up buddy. Today we are going to visit Athena,” I added, watching as Chris stirred before opening his eyes looking at me, “morning dad.” he answered rubbing the sleep out of his eyes,

“morning buddy, why don’t you go get dressed while I get breakfast started and then we can get everyone in the car and go visit Athena,” I said making my way out his room heading downstairs, putting food in the dogs bowls before taking out some frozen waffles,

I thought it would be better for something light and faster so we have more time to visit Athena and for her to spend time with her pseudo grandchildren.

I heard crutches make their way downstairs and found Chris sitting at the table, I set down waffles with syrup and milk in front of him before grabbing waffles for myself and Buck, “Buck!” I called upstairs, “Breakfast is ready!” I added, making coffee before joining Chris at the table, Buck came down not to much later putting the kids down before sitting next to me at the table and digging in, when I finished my food I put my plate away going to get the kids dressed making my way to the nursery I changed their diapers and put them in clothes before bringing them back downstairs setting them in their playpen opening the back door for Cosmo and Cooper to do their business before going back upstairs to out clothes on.

When I was done I headed to the nursery grabbing the diaper bag before grabbing the stroller from the closet in their room, taking it downstairs to get ready to go. I set everything by the front door while waiting for Buck.

Christopher was sitting on the couch watching tv and keeping an eye on his brothers, while I watched Buck make his way upstairs to change clothes. “Chris. Get ready we are going to be heading out soon and we can go to the park later today.” I said, Chris turned off the tv grabbing his crutches “okay dad.” he answered, “Buck! Let’s go!” I called up the stairs again, putting Liam and Noah in their stroller before taking them out to the car. I helped Chris get in the car before situating the boys in their carseat putting the stroller in the trunk.

I made my way to the driver's seat as I watched Buck come out of the house closing and locking the door behind him before getting in the car.

I drove in the direction of the hospital and parked in a spot before making our way inside. “Hi. We are here to visit Athena Grant.” I said to the nurse at the front desk. She looked up and smiled. “She is room 208” she replied, “Thanks” I answered as we made our way to her room. We stopped right outside her room, “Okay. Chris, when we go in, Athena is gonna look pretty banged up so we have to be careful but she is going to be okay.” I said, Chris nodded, I looked at Buck, “How are you babe?” I asked, he looked at me giving me a small smile,

“I’m actually okay. I just wanna show Athena the boys and give her a hug. I’m also pretty sure Bobby has not left her side since.” he answered, moving the stroller back and forth in a soothing manner, I rubbed his back in comfort before knocking on the door,

“Come in,” we heard from the otherside, before pushing the door opened,

“Hi Bobby, Hi Athena. We brought some people here to see you.” I said walking into the room, with Buck and Christopher trailing behind me, Athena’s and Bobby’s faces brightened when they saw them.

I gave Bobby a quick hug while Buck and Chris made their way to Athena, Bobby and I stood farther away from the 5 of them to let Buck and Athena have a moment with the kids, “How is he holding up?” Bobby asked me, I sighed looking back at him,

“I should be asking you that, but he’s okay. He’s been very quiet since last night and he’s been hovering over the kids all day not letting them out of his sight for a long period of time, I think he’s just trying to deal with everything that happened with Athena. I mean it makes sense, you and Athena are his parents and he loves both of you with everything he has, and seeing one of you in pain hurts him and this is really the first time he’s experienced anything like in a while so he’s just trying to manage everything.” I answered looking over at Buck and Chris with Athena and the boys.

“How are you doing?” I added turning back to Bobby, he sighed and answered, “I’m hanging in there. I’m glad that she’s okay but I’m upset that this happened to her and I wish it didn’t but she’s strong and she will get through this.” he answered, looking back at Athena.

“How are the babies doing? Are they sleeping better now?” he asked, “Yeah, they are actually starting to sleep through most of the night, the only time they wake up is when they need to be fed or changed.” I responded, Bobby nodded, “Why don’t we get back to them, I want to see my grandkids.” he said moving towards the bed. I chuckled but followed his lead.

**Buck’s POV**

When we got into Athena’s room I immediately made my way over to her while Eddie made his way over to Bobby, “Hey Thena” I said sitting down in the chair beside her bed and Chris sitting next to me, “Hey Buckaroo, hey Chris” “Hi grandma Thena” Chris answered, I looked at Athena with a smile. This is the first time that Chris has called Athena grandma and it warmed my heart because he knows how much of a parent Athena is to me and we’ve talked about it in front of Chris before. “How are my other grandbabies doing?” she asked, as I helped her sit up so that she could have a better look into the stroller where Liam and Noah were, “You’re grandbabies are doing good.

They are sleeping through the nights now and growing up strong, they can’t wait to spend time with their grandma Athena soon.” I answered by taking Noah out first, “You wanna hold him?” I asked, she smiled, “Yeah I would love too. Just be careful okay Buckaroo.” she said, I nodded, carefully placing Noah in her good arm making sure he’s close to her chest.

While I grabbed Liam afterwards, “How are you feeling?” I added, she lifted her head from watching Noah, “I’m feeling good for the most part, lots of bruises and sore, other than the broken arm I can’t really remember everything. I just get these flashes from the scene, but nothing sticks.” she responded.

I nodded tears forming in my eyes, “I’m so glad that you are okay. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.” I answered honestly, Athena looked up at me, “I’m right here Buckaroo, I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time, you and I both know I’m not going anywhere without a fight.” she said, smiling at me,

“You and I both know that I’m a stubborn woman and plus Bobby isn't going to let anything to happen either.” she added with a chuckle, I smiled at that.

“Yeah Bobby can be stubborn when it comes to the people he loves, you and I both know that.” I answered.

We spent the next few moments catching up before Eddie and Bobby came over, joining us and we sat in silence watching Noah and Liam and enjoying the presence that Athena is going to make a full recovery and everything is going to be okay. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

I eventually looked up at the clock, “Well, we have to get back to the puppies and we promised Chris we would go to the park. So we are going to head out and see you guys later.” I said, standing up giving Eddie Liam before helping Chris out of the chair and gave him his crutches, “okay. Well hopefully I get out of here soon so I can come visit my grandkids more and spend some time with them.” Athena answered, handing Noah back to me smiling, I smiled back,

“Of course. I can’t wait for you to have some quality bonding with them. We’ll see you guys later.” I said, hugging Bobby and then Athena before making our way out of the hospital. We got home and I made my way upstairs to change the kids’ diapers while Eddie made us a picnic and Chris went to play with the puppies while he waited for us. Once the kids were fed and changed, I grabbed their diaper bag filled with everything they needed and toys for them to play with.

“Hey babe. So Chris asked if Denny could come to the park, so we are going to be having a picnic with Hen, Karen, Nia, and Denny. Does that sound fun?” he asked, I smiled, “Yeah, that sounds great. It would be nice to see little Nia again.” I answered. Once we were packed and ready to go we piled in the car with all the proper things and made our way to the park.

We found a parking spot and grabbed the stroller out of the trunk, setting it up before putting the twins in it and making sure they were secured before the dogs jumped out, luckily they were on leashes so they didn’t go very far. We found a nice spot under a tree where there was shade and enough space for when the Wilson’s joined us, “Hey Buckley-Diaz clan.” Hen said, as she and Karen came up behind us, we waved at them.

“Hey Wilson clan.” I replied, smiling at them while helping Eddie set down the blanket, “Dad. Can Denny and I go play?” Chris asked, “Yeah, just be careful and stay in an area where we can keep an eye on you guys.” Eddie answered, Chris nodded as he and Denny ran off to the playground.

Once the blanket was set up the 4 of us took a seat, I grabbed Noah passing him to Eddie and then grabbing Liam before sitting next to Eddie making sure that the dogs were comfortable, Hen and Karen sat across from us, holding Nia while making sure we could see the boys. “How are you holding up Buckaroo? I know how much Athena means to you and seeing her like that really hit home for you.” Hen asked bouncing Nia up and down,

I looked up from Liam, “I’m doing a lot better actually. I think it helped that we visited Athena in the hospital, it gave me a sense of peace knowing that she is alive and gonna make a full recovery.” I answered, before I felt Liam getting fussy in my hold, so I put him on the blanket and put toys in front of him.

“That's good. We’re glad everything is going well.” Karen answered, playing with Nia’s fingers. We talked about random things while watching Nia, Liam, and Noah but also keeping an eye on Denny and Chris.

I eventually moved myself so that I was lying in Eddie’s embrace with his arms wrapped around me, he rewarded me with a kiss on my head before resting his head on my shoulder. “Have I ever told you how disgustingly cute you both are?” Karen said watching our exchange. Eddie chuckled into my shoulder, “No you have not, but I love that we have that effect. Don’t we babe?” I said, turning to press a kiss into Eddie’s hair. Eddie smiled, “We do. Glad to know we are the hottest couple in the fam.” he added, I laughed smiling.

Hen and Karen laughed with us, shaking their heads, “Alright not so fast. If your heads get any bigger they will not fit into your helmets anymore.” Hen answered. Karen agreed, “Yeah, I can’t imagine what it must be like at work, I’m sure everyone gets nauseous watching you too.” Hen smiled,

“Oh babe. You don’t even know half of it. When we found out Buck was pregnant Eddie became even more protective and even more touchy feely. I swear every corner I turned those two were on the couch with Buck in Eddie’s lap with him rubbing Buck’s stomach or talking to his stomach, the whole crew would get so annoyed at them.” Hen explained, Karen laughed as she watched as Eddie and I blushed in embarrassment.

Our conversation was interrupted when Chris and Denny came up to us asking for food, so Eddie grabbed the picnic basket and took out the food so everyone could eat and that’s how we spent most of the afternoon catching up and non-stop baby talk, we only left when Nia, Noah, and Liam starting drifting off. “I think it’s time we get these two home.” Eddie said looking at how Liam and Noah keep drifting in and out of sleep.

I nodded, while Hen and Karen agreed, “I think that’s a good idea. I think Nia needs to take a nap too.” Karen answered. So we packed up the blanket and put everything back and put the kids in the stroller and grabbed the dogs, making our way back to the car, “Goodbye Wilsons. This was fun, we should do it again soon.” Eddie said when we arrived at the car.

“Definitely. It was nice catching up with you guys, we gotta make this like a monthly thing or something.” Karen agreed, hiking Nia up on her hip saying our final goodbyes we packed the car and headed home.

**Eddie’s POV**

Once the car was unpacked and everybody was inside, Chris went to go watch tv in the room Cosmo and Cooper trailing behind while Buck and I took the twins to the nursery and sat them down for their afternoon nap before making our way back downstairs to spend time with our oldest, Chris looked up when he heard footsteps and some point he must have left the living room because he was holding something in his hands, I turned to Buck before looking back at Chris, “What you got there kiddo?” I asked sitting down next to him while Buck sat on the other side so he was squished in between us, he looked at me first before turning to Buck,

“It’s brochure for a summer camp that I want to go too.” Chris said quietly almost like he was scared of how we were going to react. He wasn't the confident 9 year old that we know and love, he looked at me handing me the brochure before looking back at the tv.

I looked down and opened it, “Is this something that you really want to do?” I asked, running hand over his bouncy curls, he nodded not taking his eyes off the tv, I looked at Buck passing him the brochure so he could take a look at it before turning back to Christopher.

“Why don’t pops and I talk about it and we’ll let you know.” I said, making sure he was looking at me, “It’s not a no. It's maybe, just got to make sure mister protective over there can handle you being away for long.” I teased pointing at Buck, Chris let out a small giggle.

I kissed his head, “Okay.” he replied softly leaning into my touch. I watched him snuggle into my side, I looked at Buck over his head who was looking intently at the brochure brows furrowed probably trying to process all the information, he looked up at me nodding before going back to the brochure. I felt Christopher lean even further into my side when I looked down I saw his eyes closed sleeping on my side. “Hey. i’m gonna go put him down in bed, i think the park took all the energy out him. I’ll be right back.” I said, Buck smiled softly and nodded.

I grabbed Christopher and his crutches in my arms carrying him to his bedroom and placing him under the covers taking off his glasses placing them on his nightstand while setting his crutches within reach for when he woke up. Placing the covers over him I left the door open a crack stopping briefly in the nursery before making my way downstairs back to Buck who had finally put the brochure on the coffee table obviously lost in thought,

I sat down next to him rubbing my hand in soothing circles on his thigh. “What are you thinking about, baby?” I asked trying to smooth out the crease in his brow, he smiled at me “I’m just thinking about this camp. He’s never been to sleepaway camp before and he’s going to be gone for 2 weeks, it’s summer he’s supposed to be bonding with his brothers and staying up late eating ice cream and marathoning movies as a family not sending our baby off to a place of unknown.” he admitted playing with my fingers.

“Baby, he’s going to be okay. He wants to do this and I think if it wasn’t safe he wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place and there will be adults around at all times so he won’t have to worry about anything too badly.” I reasoned,

“And for bonding with the twins, he’s got all summer to do that and the rest of his life. But he’s still gotta live his own life, we want him to stay independent and do things other kids can do, plus it gives him a chance to make even more friends.” I added, bringing Buck closer to my body so we ended up laying on the couch with Buck’s back to my chest and our legs tangled together while I played with his hair.

“I think we should let him go. I feel like it will be good for him. A new adventure if you will, he seems pretty excited about it. I just think he was nervous about asking because we have so many things going on at once and I don’t think he wanted to add to anymore stress.” I said, Buck looked at me and sighed,

“Yeah I guess it could be good for him, I just don’t like my baby growing up so fast. I know I haven't been his father for very long but he is my baby and I worry about him, I just want to be the best parent I can be. My parents weren’t bad people but they just didn’t pay us much attention, I mean I got along more with my mom than my dad so I’m still in touch with her but we don’t everyday like I would with Bobby or Athena. She did wish me congratulations on the boys and she wants to come and visit, so I’m all for her being in the kids lives. I just don’t really care much about my father, so I can go either way with him.” he admitted, I was surprised because this was one of the first times he would actually talk about his parents.

“I would love to meet your mom, your dad on the other hand seems like a piece of work though so I’m good without meeting him but your mom sounds like a decent person.” I answered honestly, running my hands up and down his sides, “I think that you two would hit things off nicely, you both are protective of me,” he answered, chuckling softly. I smiled at him, “sounds like we would.” I replied. I looked down when I heard tiny snores coming from Buck, I grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over us and set in to take a little nap ourselves.

I awoke to the sounds coming from the baby monitor on the table, Buck was still sleeping so I decided to extract myself carefully from his body and make my way to the nursery, “Hi my sweet baby boys, how did you sleep?” I asked watching them stare up at me with small smiles before I started tickling their stomachs making them giggle.

My smile widened at the actions at the way they wiggled around in their crib, “What do you say we go downstairs and you can play in the living room so I can keep an eye on you monsters.” I said before picking them up and carrying them out of the nursery and carefully setting them in their playpen before making my way to the kitchen when I heard “dad?” coming from the stairs, I looked up, “hey buddy. Did you have a good nap?” I asked watching him make his way to the kitchen island, I helped him up before going back to my original spot on the other side of the kitchen

“yeah. Did you and papa talk?” he asked quietly, I watched him nodding, “Yeah we did.” I answered, he looked at me with a hopeful look in his eyes, “and?” he asked, I chuckled,

“And… we went back and forth about it, because you know how scared your papa is to let you get away from him so fast, but I think you’ll be able to go. I just think papa will take a little bit more convincing so we are gonna bring the brochure by the station just to run it by the rest of the team.” I answered truthfully, Chris’ smile widened, “Really?” he asked,

“Really.” I added, “Thanks dad!” he answered,

I went over and ruffled his hair, “No problem kiddo.”

**FEW DAYS LATER…**

**Station 118**

**Buck’s POV**

“Are we sure we should send Chris to summer camp?” I asked looking at the pamphlet in my head while Eddie was timing Hen, “It’s all he can talk about. Some of the other kids from school are going. It’s only two weeks babe.” Eddie answered, I looked up to face him, “Time.” he said going over to Hen, “I know but two weeks away from home? Isn’t he kind of young for that? What if something happens? What if he gets homesick? Or misses his little brothers?” I added,

“Well babe. That’s why we brought in the brochure so we can get more than just our opinion on him going.” Eddie answered looking up at me, “Clearly you did not think that plan through to its logical conclusion .” Chim said, making food with Bobby. “I started going to sleepaway camp when I was 8. I love it. Camp Weegeewagen.” Bobby added, Chim, Eddie, and I looked at him, “Looked forward to it every year” he added.

“Yeah but Christopher’s a city kid.” Chim said stirring the food, “So was I” Bobby defended Chim and I looked at him funny, “St. Paul is a city.” he said, “If you say so.” Chim said, making me laugh. “I’m just trying to imagine selling Denny on the idea of two weeks without the internet.” Hen imputed, I looked at her with a skeptical look, while Eddie said, “It’s pretty exciting. They even have this farm-to-work program, where the kids pick veggies and cook’em for dinner.” Eddie said, I reached for an apple saying, “Eds, that sounds a lot like child labor.” I didn’t notice the look Chim and Bobby gave each other, I watched as Eddie graded Hen’s test.

Hen started talking about how she needs to get a good score on her MCATs in order to get into Medical school because it is harder at her age and we all cheered her on saying that she was going to do a great job. The rest of the shift went off with minimal to no calls coming which means I was able to get sleep and call Carla and check up on the kids because I’m one of those parents.

I could tell it was going to be a long night, when we get the call of a train derailment and we have multiple injuries and possible casualties, that we have to deal with and make sure that we priorities the ones who are in critical condition are taken care of first and brought the hospital, many first responders are at the scene.

We arrive at the scene to see rubble everywhere and the train is flipped over we many people coming looking for loved ones, as soon as we exited the engine we looked around at all the debris and the way that the train ended up, Eddie and I looked at each other with worried looks, “Buck, Eddie, go have a look. See if there’s a way to secure that car so we can get those people out.” Bobby ordered,

Eddie and I made our way over there as fast as we could being aware of all the people currently on the scene, Eddie and I spread apart finding a way to get a hold of the car and stabilise it. I look over and I see Eddie talking to someone, I squint grabbing my helmet making my over to them, “Abby?” I said watching as Abby and Eddie turned to look at me,

I took off my helmet looking at her in disbelief, I can’t even imagine the look on Eddie’s face right now “Buck.” she answered looking back at me Eddie looked between us with confusion written all over his face, I finally came out of shock moving towards her, “Wait, you were on the train.” I said, “Yeah. I’ve gotta--”

“We need to get you checked out.” I said moving to grab her arm as Eddie stood still. “No, no, no. i’m fine. I need to get up there.” she answered moving past me. I grab her arm holding her in place, “Abby--what? No, that’s crazy!” going to stand in front of her with Eddie behind me, “No, no, Abby, Abby, stop!” I said, “I’m trying to find somebody!” she shouted looking at me

“Okay. Well, just tell us who. We’re going--” “My fiancé” she said desperately. I stood there and looked at her with hurt in my eyes, as she explained, “He fell asleep and I went to the bar car.” she cried out, I saw Eddie move forward, “Okay. Can you give us a description?” he said calmly, before looking at me briefly while she pulled out her phone,

“That’s him. We were together in that top car right there, all the way in the back.” she explained to Eddie, who moved passed me eyeing my very carefully before moving in the direction of the car. “We’ll find him.” I said before moving away,

“Um… what’s his name?” I said turning back to face her, “Sam. Egan.” she answered, “Sam. I got it.” I repeated back before following Eddie, “Thank you, Buck” “No. No. Don’t worry about it. We’ll bring him back to you. I promise.” I said with misty eyes before putting on my helmet and moving towards the train car. Eddie and I made our way to the car, I checked pulses as I went, “Cap, be advised. Another black tag up here about halfway.” “Copy that.” he replied through the radio. “Sam!” I grunted when I spotted the man leaning over the seat with blood covering his face,

“Sam! Sam, can you hear me?” as I climbed my way to him “Sam.” I said again standing in front of him, “Hey Sam, How are you feeling?” I said, “It hurts” he answered, “Hurts when I breathe.” he wheezed out looking into my eyes, “Please. My fiancée. She's on the train.” he added, I looked at Eddie who was sitting across from me, we had to stabilize ourselves to make sure we didn’t fall “Yeah, hey, hey. She’s okay.” I said

“Cap, I got a passenger pinned up here, Looks like the support beam from the observation deck broke through the floor. Need you to send up the jaws, okay?” I said as Eddie made his way over to me, “Copy that. Coming right up.” Bobby answered.

“We got you Sam. Help is on its way.” I said looking up around me Eddie and I shifted the train car started to move, we stayed steady on the car when we saw Bobby coming up behind us with the jaws “You got it, Buck?” he asked as he passed them to me. “Yeah.” I answered, taking them from him, before placing them next to Sam, “He’s got a collapsed lung from the blunt force. O2 levels are dropping. I can relieve the pressure, but we gotta move this beam off of him.” Eddie said “Still too heavy. It’s not gonna budge.” I said looking at Bobby when the jaws didn’t do much damage.

**Eddie’s POV**

“All right. Let’s try the hydraulic ram” Bobby said reaching into the seat behind him and grabbing them handing it to Buck to see if it would work as he was using the machine we heard this scream “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Bobby said, “Hey! We got somebody else!” I said, I moved to look over, moving a bag out of the way and saw a girl trapped under a bench, “How are you doing?” I asked her, “My side really hurts” she groaned, “I’m gonna take a peak.” I said moving her jacket out of the way to see bone bleeding through with blood, “Oh god. All right. Force of the crash pushed her leg up into her torso.” I said to Bobby, “What?” she gasped, I moved down to grab a hold of her leg, “This is gonna hurt a little bit.” I warned her, I removed her boot.

“There’s still a pulse in her foot. Blood’s still pumping to it.” I added looking down at Bobby “That’s a beam. Come on.” Bobby said, moving down, “Be right back, okay?” I said following Bobby and Buck down the car away from the victims. “Hey. what’s going on?” Buck asked looking at Bobby, “They’re both trapped by the same beam. We take the pressure off him and we’re squeezing her.” Bobby said before looking at me, “Which one has the better shot?” he asked, I looked back at him shrugging, “Injuries are different. The risk is the same.” I answered looking at Buck,

“What are we saying? We gotta pick who we save?” Buck asked while Bobby answered, “I’m saying I don’t think we can save’ em both.” looking back at Buck, “All right, Sam. this is for the pain.” I said inserting morphine into an IV in his hand, “Keep him talking.” I told Buck moving to the girl readjusting my helmet,

I looked over at Buck and saw this broken look on his face at the mention of kids, it made me think of our boys at home waiting for us to come home. I made my way back to Bobby, “Okay, I’m calling it. We start with the girl, we get her out.” Bobby said as Buck came up behind me facing us, “Copy that.” I answered before Buck said, “No, no, no. It's gonna crush Sam’s other lung. He’s gonna die.” “I’m aware of that. But protocol dictates that we save whomever has the better chance, and Eddie’s saying that’s the girl.” Bobby explained, Buck looked over at me, “No.”

“Ev, her vitals are stronger. He’s starting to decompensate. If we have to choose--” “We do. We can’t move that steel beam.” Bobby added, before the train moved even more this time, “Okay. Okay, you’re right the beam is steel. But the skin on this thing, the skin is stainless. That's much thinner. I could go outside, I could cut a piece out, pull the girl through, and that will buy us enough room to save Sam.” Buck pleaded, “No. This car hasn’t been secured. That’s why we're working on the inside.” “If this thing topples, we can ride it down, but if you’re on the outside--”

“Yeah, I know” Buck said, I looked away shaking my head at their fighting, “I will be crushed by 100 tons of train car, and I know that is a lot heavier than a fire truck. But Bobby--” “Buck, stop.” I finally said, “All right, I know you made a promise.” “What promise?” Bobby asked, I looked at Buck clenching my fist before looking at Buck,

“To his fiancée. I promised I would bring him back to her.” Buck explained, “What?” Bobby said, “To Abby.” I said looking at Buck with a hurt look on my face “His fiancée’s Abby.” I said getting up, “Okay.” Bobby said, “No Eds. Look, it’s not just about her. Okay, he’s a father. He has two daughters.” I started walking away before I turned around hearing their argument wasn’t going to stop. “Enough! We don’t have time for this.” I said looking at both of them “Buck come on.” I added. I watched as Buck was hooked up to equipment and made his way on the outside of the train with the saw trying to cut his way in order to have the chance to save both victims. But all I can think about is making sure my boys have a father to come home to when the night is over.

But I couldn’t worry about that right now, Bobby was making sure the car was getting stable. All I have to worry about now is making sure that they both get out of here, “How are we doing, Sam?” I asked my way over to him, “Okay.” he groaned “How’s the girl?” he asked, I looked back at her before answering, “She’s hanging in there.” I answered by checking his pupils I listened to their conversation, “Neither of you guys are missing anything. We’re getting you out.” I answered making my way over to Buck as I was greeted by his beautiful face,

“All right, send up the basket!” he called behind him, keeping his hands steady on the car, I got the basket and placed the girl in it making sure everything was secure before handing her over to Buck so she safely made her way down, “All right, your turn Sam.” Buck called and we got to work as I started cutting the beam calling out to him, “Almost there Sam,” I said looking at him as the metal started cracking.

I kept looking up at him to make sure that he was still with me, as I kept cutting the metal smiling knowing how well Buck and I work together that we can get him out. Once he was placed in the basket making sure that everything was in the correct place, we carefully pulled him out, “Abby? Is she here?” Sam asked Buck he answered, “She’s down there waiting for you, Sam.” Buck answered helping him the rest of the way out, when Sam was in the safety of the other firefighters I turned to face Buck,

“What do you say we get out of this death trap?” Buck looked at me and smiled, “That sounds like a great idea, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can go home to our babies. I need some cuddles after a night like tonight,” I nodded, “I couldn’t agree more.” I added as we made our way down back onto the ground.

**Buck’s POV**

I ran to pick some stuff when I heard Sam calling “Hey. Hey man. Thank you.” “Buck. Thank you.” Abby said, “You’re Buck?” Sam asked, I nodded, “Good to meet you, Sam.” I answered as they made their way into the ambulance, I didn’t realize Eddie was behind me until I felt his hand on my lower back in comfort “You okay?” Eddie asked, “What’s next?” is all I said before getting back to work in the pile of debris, it took so long to clean everything up and make sure that everyone was taken care of before going back to the station getting cleaned and trying not to think about Abby and her fiance, Eddie kept looking at me with a worried expression on his face and I could tell he wanted to say something to me but I kept avoiding it. When we finally arrived back at the station we got out of the truck,

“Alright team, get changed and go home. It’s been a long night, go be with your loved ones.” Bobby said, no one said anything instead we all headed to the locker rooms to grab our things, I sat on the bench looking down at my shaking hands, “--Evan!” I heard from above me, I looked up and saw Eddie standing in front of me already changed, a worried look in his eyes, “Evan, babe. Let’s go home.” he added, grabbing onto my shaking hands, I nodded and grabbed my things before leaving the locker room with Eddie.

When we got home, I numbly made my way inside, “Hey Buckaroo.” Carla said, smiling at me, I looked at her, and gave her a tired smile, “Hi Carla, I’m gonna go shower. Have a good night.” I answered walking past her, I could briefly hear Eddie and her talking as I stepped into our shared bedroom taking my clothes off making my way into our ensuite bathroom, turning on the shower and stepping inside and leaning my head under the stream and that’s when I finally broke into heavy sobs. “Shh. It’s okay Ev, let it all out. I’ve got you.”

It’s then that I realized Eddie had his hands wrapped around me holding me to his chest, I turned in his hold wrapping my arms around his neck burying my face in between his neck and shoulder. I don’t remember how long we stood there before I pulled away and watched Eddie wipe the tears away, “Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed? What do you say?” he asked, smiling at me, I smiled back at him and nodded,

“Yeah, that sounds good. Can we stop by the kids room first?” I added, Eddie kissed me, “Of course.” he answered as he pulled away and guided me into our bedroom changing into shorts and a hoodie before making our way down the hall first to the twins’ room and than Chris’ room, in each room I gave them kisses on their heads before Eddie finally ushered me back to our room. Eddie pulled back the covers motioning for me to get in, which I did and Eddie got in behind me pressing his chest against my back wrapping his arms around my waist kissing the back of my neck

“I love you Evan.” He said, I turned to give him a kiss

“I love you too Eds” I answered before drifting off to sleep.

**A WEEK LATER…**

** Buck’s POV**

I sat on a park bench looking out into LA enjoying the sun waiting for Abby to show up, not even sure if she is going to show up and I have no idea what I am going to be saying to her, “Hi” Abby said sitting next to me, I looked up at her and smiled, “Hey.” “Thanks for meeting me.” she added, “Yeah. How’s--how’s Sam?” I asked, “He’s good. They’re expecting a full recovery.” “Good. he seems like a great guy. “He said the same thing about you.” I looked down at my hands when she continued, “and I will never be able to thank you enough for what you did.’”

“Just doing my job. That’s all.” we didn’t say anything for a few seconds just looking into the distance, “I’m sorry that you had to find out about it this way. I had actually wanted to talk to you about everything while I was in town, “That’s what you're sorry for?” I asked in disbelief

“When did you know you were... leaving me for good?” “Well--” “You know, was it--” “was it in Morocco or Paris or Dublin or-- or did you know when we were at the airport and I was kissing you good-bye and promising you that I would wait for you? Did you know then that you were never coming back to me?” I asked, “I thought I would.” she answered, I didn’t believe her, looking away, “Look, I was a person whose life revolved around everybody else's problems.”

“I had no identity other than… the people I was helping, my 9-1-1 calls, my dying mother. I just had no sense of self, I had to leave everything I knew so that I could remember who I actually am.” she explained, “And you did, right? I mean, you did remember, but… you still didn’t come home.” I argued, “Yeah, I know” she said not even looking at me anymore, “I think I was afraid that if I came back, I would become that person again. Because I missed you. I wanted to see you. But i didn’t trust myself.” she responded,

“Because being here, being with me, you might lose yourself again?” I asked, she nodded “yeah.” I sat there processing everything that just happened and now I feel like I got the closure I needed. “I’m glad to see you happy, Abby. you deserve it.” I said actually meaning it because I know that I’m happy with Eddie and the boys so in some way I can see her happy as well, “Are you happy Buck?” she asked me, I looked at her letting out a small smile before looking at her, “Yeah, I am. I have a boyfriend now and we recently had two baby boys.” I said showing her the pictures of Noah and Liam,

“They look just like you.” she said smiling down at the phone, “Well, I would hope so, I gave birth to them.” Abby looked at me in confusion, “Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that I am a carrier, Eddie and I found out we were pregnant 3 months into my pregnancy.” I explained, “Is that your co-worker that I saw at the derailment?” she asked, I nodded, “Yep. that’s the one.” she let out a soft smile,

“I’m really happy for you Buck. You’ve really made a life for yourself here and it seems like you have a really solid support system and a family that cares about you. It also seems like Eddie cares alot about you and that’s all I could ask for.” she said, smiling at me, I returned the smile “Thanks Abby, that means a lot coming from you.” I answered honestly before getting up,

“Well, I have a boyfriend and kids to get home too. It was good to see you again Abby despite the circumstances.” I said, as Abby got up as well, we gave each other one more hug. “Same goes for you Buck.” she replied before we parted ways. “I’m home!” I called when I walked in the door. “Hey babe!” Eddie called from the kitchen, “Hi Papa.” Christopher called from the living room, playing with Liam and Noah,

I wrapped my arms around Eddie giving him a kiss on the back of the neck. “Hi.” I answered pulling away as Eddie turned in my arms, “Well hello to you too. How did it go? Did you get the closure you needed?” he asked, running his hands up and down my arms. I looked at him smiling softly,

“Yes, I did. She explained how she thought that she was going to come back but how when she was away it was harder and harder for her to actually do it. She said that if she came back she would turn back into the person she was before she left, the person who had no identity and was looking out for everybody else instead of herself.” I sighed holding his hands in mine and smiling softly at him.

“I’m sorry babe. I hate that you had to deal with all of this.” Eddie answered smiling sadly at me, I shook my head softly as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly in his embrace running a soothing hand up and down my back,

“It’s okay babe, I’m over it now and I’m glad that she is happy because in the end I realized that we never would have lasted long and I wouldn’t have you or Chris or our beautiful baby boys if it wasn’t for her leaving so in the end I think I got the best deal.” I smiled cheekily at him.

Eddie just leaned down and kissed me again, “Well then, I’m glad to have been of service.” Eddie responded, leaning down to kiss me again when we heard a cry, I pulled back and leaned my head on his chest, “Looks like it’s feeding time. It’s a good thing too that the pressure was starting to build up.” I answered moving away making my way towards the living room.

I ruffled Chris’ hair before sitting on the couch and grabbing Noah first pulling my shirt over my head as he latched onto one of my nipples, “Hey buddy, did you have fun with dad while I was gone?” I asked looking down at him, Chris looked up from his drawing and smiled at me, “Yeah, I got to play with Noah and Liam all morning, and dad made me waffles.” he answered excitedly,

I chuckled as I burped Noah before picking up Liam, as he latched onto my other nipple I asked, “Are excited for May’s graduation party?” Chris’ smile got even wider, “I can’t wait. It’s going to be so much fun, are Liam and Noah going to come with us?” he asked, I looked down at Liam then Noah before answering,

“No buddy they can’t” Chris’ smile fell, “Why not?” he asked, I smiled sadly at him

“Because buddy they are still so small, they are only a couple months old and they still need a lot of attention so if we brought them to the party that’s all your dad and I would be focused on to make sure that they are taken care of and I think that would not be very fun for you or us because we are supposed to be celebrating May’s success and giving her all of our attention. But don’t worry, Carla is going to be taking care of them so they are in the best hands ever,” I responded, and watched as the wheels in Chris’ head started turning,

“Your pops right superman. We want to be able to have as much time with May and the others and since they aren’t old enough it is better that they stay home and get taken care of.” Eddie said, coming from the kitchen giving me a kiss and sitting down next to me leaning over to run his finger over Liam’s cheek gently, “I guess that makes sense, they are pretty small and fragile.” he answered, before he went back to his drawing,

I leaned into Eddie’s side resting my head on his shoulder, and sighed, while he ran his fingers through my hair.

**Eddie’s POV**

I looked down as I watched Buck stare sleepily at Liam, before looking down at Noah in his playpen.

I realized Liam had finished eating and now he was looking at Buck, I carefully extracted Liam from Buck’s arms burping him before placing him next to his brother in the playpen. I wrapped my arm around Buck’s back and watched as he snuggled into my side, I kissed the crown of his head as he started to softly snore into my arm. I looked at Chris who was starting to fall asleep on the ground so I called to him,

“Mijo, why don’t you leave the drawing and come sit with me on the couch, you can take a quick nap before we have to leave for the party.” Chris carefully pulled himself up before plopping himself down next to me and snuggled into my other side,

I kissed his forehead and watched as all of my boys drifted off into a peaceful sleep. I grabbed the remote turning the tv on a low volume and watched some random show while I kept an eye on my family, who will hopefully grow in the future if Buck was up for it.

As I watch them sleeping I look over at Chris and see how peaceful he is even over the past couple years of trauma that he experienced at such a young age, he is now a part of a very stable loving family instead of the broken one when Shannon was still alive and everything was a disaster. Now everything has fallen into place. Before long I look over and see Buck starting to stir next to me rubbing his eyes before blinking up at me smiling, “Hi.” he whispered, “Hi” I whispered back giving him a peck on the lips he smiled back and grabbed the back of my neck deepening the kiss, I moan softly into his mouth before finally pulling back.

“Babe as much as I would love to continue this, we have 3 kids to look after, and 2 of them are enfants.” I said smiling down at the kuttle pout on his face. “But Eds, I miss you. We haven’t had sex in months and I’m dying here.” Buck countered,

I chuckled softly, “Well that’s what happens when you have kids babe. You go some time without having sex, they are still babies they need to be taken care of and we have been working a lot to pay for baby stuff and haven’t really had much alone time without falling asleep and than with Athena’s accident, train wreckage and Abby coming back, our lives have been a little crazy.” I explained, rubbing Buck’s back gently,

Buck sighed, “I know, But I miss you, i want alone time with you and I want to have sex with you. I’m back on my birth control pills so I can’t get pregnant anymore. I want my boyfriend back.” he answered,

“I promise as soon as possible you and I can get some alone time together, Chris is going away for 2 weeks, we can do something together then. I promise. I’ll ask Bobby if we can get some time off so we can have some more time with the twins.” I answered, “That sounds great babe. I hope that happens, I want to be with my babies.” he replied, I smiled,

“We have to leave soon and Carla should be here shortly, why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll wake up this one here, so we can get ready to go.” I said, kissing his forehead before he got up and made his way upstairs, I gently shook Chris’ shoulder, “Mijo, it’s time to get ready we have to go to Grama Athena’s and Grandpa Bobby’s for May’s grad party.” Chris blinked, pulling his glasses on, “Okay dad.” Chris said before getting up and making his way to his room. The doorbell rang, I made sure I could see both Noah and Liam before making my way to the door, “Hi Carla, thank you so much for this,” I answered opening the door and letting her in.

“Don’t worry about it Eddie, I love taking care of my favorite family and I love those babies, they are so cute. Go enjoy May’s party. You guys deserve to have some fun together, when’s the last time you guys got to do something fun?” she asked, I sighed rubbing a hand over my face, “It’s been a while, with work, Athena’s accident, train wreckage, and Abby coming back it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, Buck’s been on edge and he’s been quiet that some nights I think the only keeping him going are the boys, I feel like if we leave the boys for a trip he will break and I won’t know what to do to help him.”

I answered honestly, “Wait, Abby’s back?” Carla asked, I nodded,

“Yeah we saw her when we were called to the train wreckage, apparently she was coming back to LA and she’s engaged, it totally blindsided Buck and he shut down, then he promised to save her fiancé and he and Bobby got into a big fight. We were able to save her fiancé and a younger girl luckily but that night was filled with so many emotions. Buck actually met with Abby today and he got the closure that he needed, they are both in happy relationships so I guess there is nothing left between them, did you know that she was coming back to LA?” I answered,

Carla shook her head, “No, I had no idea where she was, we haven’t really had much contact in a while and I guess I know why. Is Buck okay? I know he and Abby had a serious relationship and everything,” I nodded, “Yeah he is okay. He will be okay, he’s been through hell recently so I think what he needs is to just let loose and have some fun.” I added,

Carla nodded in agreement, “Definitely, that boy has done so much and been through the wringer. You guys go and have the time of your lives, while Noah, Liam and I will have fun together and have a nice afternoon together, and we’ll take the dogs on a walk.” I sighed in relief,

“That sounds amazing, Carla you are a lifesaver.” Carla chuckled. “Go get your boys and have fun, we will be just fine.” she added.

**May’s Grad Party**

** Eddie’s POV**

When we arrived at the Grant-Nash house the party was in full swing, we knocked on the door and was greeted by Bobby, we came in and Chris immediately headed towards Denny and Harry. “How are you guys doing?” Bobby asked as we followed him inside, Buck made his way over to May immediately, “We’re good, the twins keep us busy so we try to get as much sleep as possible while they are sleeping, for the most part they don’t wake up and when they do Buck is usually the first one to get to them so I always find him sitting in the rocking chair with Noah and Liam laying in his arms,”

“That’s good, how is Buck doing with the whole Abby showing up out of nowhere?” I sighed, “He is doing okay, they had a conversation and I think Buck got the closure that he needed and Abby explained why she left and how it was hard for her to come back because she was worried about turning back into the person she was before she left, the person who didn’t have her own identity and didn’t know who she was.” I answered, Bobby’s look softened before he looked over at where Buck was talking with Hen, Chim, and Maddie.

“That boy has been through so much in the past 2 years plus this past week, do you think he is hiding how he is dealing with his emotions?” Bobby asked, “I think he is hiding how he feels, he’s trying to be strong for everyone, himself included, and I think it is taking a toll on him and I don’t know how to help him if he won’t talk to me. How’s Athena doing?” I asked, Bobby sighed, “Honestly, I have no idea. She says that she is fine, but I know that she is hurting but she doesn’t want to say anything, I don’t know how to help her because she doesn’t want to talk about it. She’s the strongest person I know but I know deep down she is hurting and I’m on the outside looking in.” Bobby answered,

I nodded because I know exactly what he is going through, “I just think that if we are there for them when they need it that’s all we can hope for.” I added, “Yeah I think you’re right, now what do you say we go have some fun.” Bobby agreed, smiling at me and patting me on the shoulder, as we made our way over to Chim and Hen, while Buck was currently over with the kids,

“What I’m dying to know is when you are going to put a ring on his finger?” Hen asked smiling at me, Chim and Bobby laughed while my mouth fell open,

“What?” I asked, “Come on Eddie it’s not a hard question. When are you going to put a ring on Buckaroos finger?” she asked again, I looked between the three of them, “Guys we haven’t even been dating for a year. We haven’t thought about getting married at all.” I defended, they raised their eyes at me,

“Come on Eddie, you and Buck have practically been dating since you first came to the station, you guys are bound to get married sooner or later.” Chim added, “Chim’s right Eddie, you guys have 3 kids and Buck’s adopted Christopher. How much longer are you gonna wait before you make an honest man out of our Buckaroo. It’s clear he is so gone for you.” Bobby added, I blushed looking sheepishly at them. Before I could respond Buck was making his way over to us, “Don’t say anything, we’ll talk about this later.” I whispered giving them a small glare, they nodded and smiled as Buck made himself comfortable into my side, so I lifted my arm and wrapped it around his shoulder giving him a kiss, “Hey babe.” I greeted, “Hey Eds, hey guys. What’d I miss?” he asked, the four of us smiled,

“Nothing much just talking about random stuff, like when Chim is going to pop the question to Maddie.” I said, watching as Chim’s face turned a bright shade of red, “Yeah, come on Chim it’s about time, I see the way the two of you look at each other, the time can’t be any better.” Buck said giving Chim his protective brother look, “Don’t worry Buckaroo when the time is right I’ll make sure you are the first person I talk too.” he answered smiling at Buck, “You better.” he added. Chim gulped, causing us to burst into laughter, “But since we are the topic Buckaroo, when do you plan on proposing to our dear Eddie over here?” Hen intervened, Buck blushed and his mouth dropped open, “Guys we haven’t even gone on an official date yet.” he answered, the rest of the team’s eyes widened and mouth dropped, “WHAT?” the three of them said in unison, Buck and I just smiled and I hid my face in Buck’s neck. “Hold up. You mean to tell me that you guys have been dating for close to a year AND have 2 babies at home and you haven’t been on one date?” Hen asked, we nodded, “Yeah I mean when your a firefighter and everything your schedule is crazy and when Buck got pregnant we didn’t exactly have time to go on a date plus taking care of Chris and it’s been some crazy months,” I informed them, they all shook their heads, “That is unacceptable, you guys did everything backwards, you had babies before marriage and you live together without going on a single date, you guys are weird.” Hen added,

“Did you guys ever plan on going on a date?” Chim asked, we looked at each other and shrugged, “I mean we haven’t exactly thought about it, we have a 10 year old and 2 1 month old babies, we don’t exactly get enough sleep let alone a chance to go on a date.” “But if you have a solution I would love to be able to go on a first date with my boyfriend.” I answered, they looked at each other before looking at us, “I think that can be arranged,” Bobby answered, Hen and Chim nodded in agreement, Buck and I looked at each other before shrugging and looking back at our co-workers.

“Okay.” Buck answered, smiling at them. “Now what do you say we go have some fun and take some pictures and celebrate this party.” Chim said, we all agreed and made our way over to where pictures were getting taken. Buck’s POV After cake and the many many pictures that were taking everybody was chilling between the backyard and the living room, I was talking to Chimney when Maddie came over, “Hey Mads. What’s up?” I asked, looking at her smiling, “Nothing much, everything is good. Do you mind if I steal him away from you?” she asked, pointing to Chim. I shook my head and smiled, “Nope. Go ahead, just don’t get any crazy ideas.” I added, winking at them, “Oh please that’s your department.” she countered, laughing at my rolled eyes.

I watched them retreat towards the other side of the yard, I made my way over to Bobby figuring it was time we talked about what happened during the train derailment. So I let out a deep breath and made my way over to where Bobby was standing on the porch looking out into the backyard, “Hi Bobby.” I said leaning against the other side of the porch, “Hi Buck, what’s up?” he asked turning to face me, I looked at Bobby and played with the sticker on my beer.

“Hey I just wanted to apologize for the train,” I said, looking sheepishly at him, he put his hand on my shoulder and waited until I looked up at him.“It’s alright. We both got a little heated.”I let out a small smile, “You doing okay?” he added, I chuckled, “Yeah, I think I am” I replied, smiling it to the backyard watching Christopher playing with Eddie, “Good” Bobby answered, smiling back at me, “Are you okay?” I asked in return, Bobby gave me a small smile, “I will be, it will take a little bit for all of us but I think things are going to be just fine,” he reassured me.

I watched as Bobby made his way over to where Athena was talking with Hen, and gave her a kiss on the cheek before sitting down with her and out of the corner of my eye I saw Chim and Maddie make retreat out the door without so much as a goodbye to anybody, I guess I would ask them about that later, I didn’t realize what was happening until I felt arms wrap around my waist and kiss being placed on the back of neck, I smiled and leaned into his arms,

“Hi.” Eddie said tucking his face in between my neck and shoulder, “Hi.” I answered bringing my hands up, covering Eddie’s, “What were you and Bobby talking about?” he asked resting his chin on my shoulder, I sighed, “I was apologizing for what happened on the train. For the things I said and then he apologized for what he said.” I answered. Eddie hummed and kissed my shoulder, “Let’s go join the others.” I said, removing Eddie’s arms and grabbed his hand dragging him over to where the rest of the 118 were sitting, sans Chim and Maddie, I sat down and Eddie decided to sit on my lap which caused a couple laughs from the family.

Eddie ignored them and buried his head in my neck, I ran my hand up and down his spine in a calming motion. “Looks like someone is tired,” Athena said looking over at us before turning to look at where Christopher, Denny, and Harry were all lying on the ground together, I chuckled, “Yeah, these two have had a pretty exciting day and Chris can’t wait for his field trip, and the babies, it’s been a crazy couple of months.” I answered watching as Eddie’s breathing evened out. “How are my grandbabies doing?” Athena asked, I smiled, “They are good, we are actually able to sleep through the night most of the time so it’s easier than it was when we first brought them home from the hospital, thanks for the idea of the fire station noises. It really helped us out.” I answered, Athena smiled at me, “That’s good. I hope you’ll bring over our grandbabies soon, I could use the company while I’m on leave.” she added, I smiled.

“I think that can be arranged, I’m sure they would love to spend time with their grandparents.” I answered. The next couple hours were spent sitting outside by the fire and just spending time together and catching up, eventually everyone started leaving. I looked at my watch before looking at Athena and Bobby apologetically, “Hey Bobby, Thena, I think we are going to head out, we’re gonna relieve Carla, and I should probably get these two to bed.” I answered running my hand through Eddie’s hair, they nodded, “Do you want some help with Chris? It looks like you are going to have to practically carry Eddie out the door.” Bobby asked, smiling, “Yeah, do you mind. Eddie’s out like a light and he can be a heavy sleeper, so if you carry Chris I’ve got Eddie.” I answered, Bobby nodded and extracted himself from Athena, I stood up with Eddie in my arms, I briefly saw the flash of a camera go off and turned and watched as Hen smiled after she took the picture.

“Send that to me will ya?” I asked, she nodded and laughed, Bobby and I made our way through the house and to the jeep Bobby grabbed my keys and unlocked the door before opening it and placing Chris down buckling his seat belt then came on the other side and opened the door for me while I set Eddie down and buckle him in closing the door, before turning back to Bobby, “Thanks Bobby, today was great. We had a lot of fun, if you couldn’t tell.” I said, Bobby chuckled, before bringing me into a big hug, “It’s our pleasure, we’re glad everybody has a great time, will we see you guys anytime soon?” he asked, I nodded, “Yeah, Chris is leaving next week so Eddie wants to spend some time with him before he goes but hopefully we can have people over or do like a barbeque at the park or something. To take Eddie’s mind off the fact that his oldest isn’t going to be here for two weeks.” I explained, Bobby nodded in understanding, “For sure, just let us know and we can get something.” I said my last goodbyes before getting in the driver's side and making our way home, I pulled into the driveway and unlocked the front door first before taking Christopher inside and to his bedroom changing him into his pajamas and then heading back to the car locking it and carrying Eddie to our room changing his clothes and setting him under the covers before making my way back downstairs to where Carla was sitting in the living room.

“Hey Carla, thanks for today, how was everything?” I asked, Carla shut off the tv and smiled, “Everything was perfect, they were angels, I fed them and just put them down a little bit ago, so they should be down hopefully for the night,” I sighed in relief, “Thanks Carla, I’m glad. Go home to your family, have a good night.” I added giving her a hug and a kiss.

“Thanks Buckaroo, have a good night,” she added, giving me one last hug before grabbing her bag and headed out the front door closing it behind her, I locked the doors and made sure the dogs were fed before turning off the lights and making my way upstairs, I checked in on Chris, smiling at his sleeping form, I made my way in the room quietly giving him a kiss on the forehead before closing the door behind me, then made my way to the twins and watched them sleeping peacefully to the sounds of the firestation before making my way to our bedroom, changing into pajamas and getting in next to Eddie, moving so that his head was lying on my chest I kissed his forehead before falling into a peaceful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry guys for taking so long on updating this story with school coming back and quarantine I haven't had much time to post any of the stories, I have been writing them but not posting them so I will try and update as soon as possible. Thanks for all the patience and support.
> 
> Kudos and Comments are welcomed and please if you have suggestions on what I should add please feel free to let me know: you can also find me on Tumblr @buddie20 and Twitter @AlexAda21054828


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